The epidemic of cancer dramatically spread those last decades and indisputably became the main studied disease of current times. New aspects of the genetics of cancer pathogenesis are increasingly recognized as important. Novel strategies were recently developed for treating patients suffering from cancer. Among them, novel chemotherapy compounds were designed for inducing cell cycle arrest or inducing apoptosis. Indeed, inducing apoptosis became a highly promising strategy for treating patients. However, the scientific community is avidly in need for new compounds which alleviate the well-known side effects of current chemotherapies and provide efficient results in the treatment of cancer.
On the other hand, the epidemic of obesity and diabetes has reached worldwide proportions, and are forerunner of secondary organ failure through exogenous lipid deposition in nonadipose tissues, thereby leading to premature death. Indeed, frequent disorders associated with obesity (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, and lipotoxic cardiomyopathy) are attributed to excess lipid accumulation in organs, a pathologic process that has been termed lipotoxicity. However, the mechanism responsible for said lipotoxicity is still at debate and no efficient therapy for treating pathologies attributed to excess lipid accumulation was found to be appropriate to date. There is thus a long unfulfilled need for new therapeutic strategies for treating and/or preventing pathologies attributed to excess lipid accumulation.